3m 

^ (J. b 



F 377 

.B7 U5 
Copy 1 

60th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. J Report 

M Session. \ \ No. 1865. 



^^^rv4£>^ 



. ^J'SjUL. CrVv. '^•V- V^-■^>?■*..'-/*JJ^L^^•^ 



I'.OUNDARY LINE, ETC., BETWEEN MISSISSIPPI AND 

LOUISIANA. 



January 16, 1909. — Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed. 



I^r. Foster, of Indiana, from the Committee on the Judiciaiy, sub- 
mitted the following 

REPORT: 

[To accompany H. J. Ees. 232.] 

The Committee on the Judiciary, havino- hnd under considei'ation 
the joint resolution (H. J. Res. 228) to enable the States of Mississippi 
and Louisiana to agree upon a boundary line and to determine the 
jurisdirtion of crimes committed on the Mississippi River and adjac^ent 
territory, respectfully report in lieu of said resolution the following' 
as a substitute: 

That the consent of the Congress of the United States is iiereby »iven to the States 
of Mississipfii and Louisiana to entt^r into sucli airreeiiient or compact as they may 
deem dtsirable or ne essary, not in conflict with the Constitution of tlie United 
States or any law thereof, to fix the boundary line between said States where the 
Mississippi Kiver now, or formerly, formed the said liomidary line, and to cede, 
respectively, each to the other such tracts or parcels of the teiritoy of each State as 
may liave become si^parated from the main bodv thereof l)y changes in the course 
or channel of the Mississijipi River, and al-o to adjudge and settle the jurisdiction to 
be exercised by said States, respectively, over offenses arisin<f out of the violation 
of the laws of said States upon the waters of the Missi!-si[)pi Kiver. 

Your committee recommend the passage of the substitute. 

The reasons f(»r the adoption of the resolution are briefly: The 
boundary line between the States of Mississi|)pi and Louisiana as 
originally fixed was the Mississippi River. By this it is meant the 
thread or middle of that stream was the dividing line. The river 
along that r;^ach wdiich forms this l)oundar3' Hows through an alluvial 
valley and is mai'ked by a most tortuous course. Long bends, 10 and 
even %) miles around and only 2 or 3 miles across are very frequent, 
and in times past when the aimual Hoods would come the river would 
rush across these narrow necks with such force and volume that it 
would in many instances cut through the soft alluvium and thus estab- 
lish a iK^w and shorter channel and leave the long, narrow bend cut off 
from their original jurisdictions. 



2 BOUNDARY LINE, ETC., BETWEEN MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA. 

The old channel around the bend, thus abandoned, at first becomes 
a lake, but is soon filled by the deposit of silt, which is precipitated as 
soon as it reaches this still water, and in the course of a few years 
W'hat was at first an island becomes a part of the mainland, and by this 
process numerous areas have become entirel}' separated from their 
orij4inal States and attached to the opposite shore. An illustration is , 
presented at Vicksburg-, Miss. It will be recalled b}^ all that the river, 
formerly ran along the front of this historic cit}". In 1876 ont" of thef^'^ 
cut-otts occurred by the river breaking through the narrow neck jttg^ 
below the city and leaving it on what was named ''Centennial Lake 55 
Within a few j^ears the lake along the city front filled up and no"^ 
a perfect wilderness stands high and dry where the gunboats floated Oj. 
went down in 80 feet of water in I860. There are many of these cuti 
otfs, the eft'ects of which have been to separate from their origin;:] j 
jurisdictions numerous small tracts, until it has come to pass that thg 
Mississippi River does not always mark the boundar\^ line betwee^^ 
these States. The inconvenience and undesirability of having thes^ 
small areas far away from the scrutiny of their own peace officers anr^ 
attached physically but not jurisdictionallv to the other State is appaj, 
ent and requires no elaboration. 

This resolution gives the consent of the Congress, which may be 
necessary by the last clause of section 10, Article I, of the Constitu- 
tion, and simply enables these States to restore the ancient boundary, 
the Mississippi Kiver, by mutually ceding these areas which have 
been cut oti', as above set forth. 

The substitiite also permits the States named to make such agree- 
ment or compact as may be necessary to enable them to exercise 
concurrent jurisdiction over bfienses committed on this bcndary 
stream, just as the States which are separated by the Ohio River were 
empowered to do by the original ordinance which ceded the North- 
west Territory to the Union. 

While it may ))e a debatable question as to whether or not the 
consent of the Congress is necessary, it has been deemed best to 
accede to the wishes of the States and give them consent to do what 
they apply for, 

o 

1 TBRARY OF CONGRESS 

■Ifi. 

014 544 200 H ^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



IIIIIIIIMIill 1 1 lilllli: 
014 544 200 A 



